Our mind and soul need just as much nourishment as our body does. Just as if you start to neglect your body, when you neglect your overall self, you start getting ill in other ways besides just physically. This is usually due to a lack of self care.
These days, there is a cultural phenomenon that dictates that if you take time for yourself that you are being selfish or self centered. Nothing could be further from the truth. You can’t be good to others if you are not also good to yourself.
You need to make sure that you take care of yourself holistically which means that you have to take some time to focus on your needs. In this article, we will go over several ways that you can practice self care to feel good inside and out.
1. Get frequent massages
A massage feels like the ultimate indulgence and is saved for special occasions or vacations. However, a massage is very important for your body and your mind. Working the muscles gets rid of the toxins built up which then help you get rid of the cortisol from stress.
You can be very specific about your massages, too. For instance, if you work on your feet a lot then make sure to take care of them with one of these foot massagers so you can do it yourself whenever your feet feel tired.
If you are a mom that is always lifting and carrying children that get heavier by the day, then a deep tissue massage on your back will do wonders. When you make getting a massage a regular occurrence, you’ll notice a lot of other aspects of your life changing. Feeling good physically and being less stressed will carry over and improve your life in many ways.
2. Get more sleep
Sleep is the lynchpin in our physical and mental health. Not enough and it makes everyday life a struggle and can even lead to frequent illness. When you are sleep deprived it lowers your immune system health and causes you to catch colds and other illnesses more often since you don’t have enough natural defense.
The problem that a lot of people have right now is an unhealthy relationship with sleep. By packing as much as possible into every moment, we often pay the price with hours of sleep. It seems like sleep is unproductive, but that isn’t the case. When you are sleep deprived it slows you down and makes it harder to be productive in your waking hours.
Make a sleep schedule and stick to it. Seven to eight hours of sleep per night for an adult is the best amount to make sure that your body has time to heal, get rid of toxins and to reset. You will feel far less stress during the day when you are well rested. And you can be far more productive by staying healthy.
3. It’s ok to say no
When you are asked to do things with others, you may feel a responsibility to just say yes. When asked for a favor, or even just to go out and socialize for a while, it’s ok to say no. When your body and mind are telling you to take it easy and give yourself some quiet time, then listen. Ask for a rain check so you don’t come off as being aloof or that you are trying to withdraw or isolate yourself.
It’s just that you can’t be on the run all the time. Even a night out for drinks with friends may be too much of a commitment to others so take a day or evening to do something that you want to do by yourself without feeling obligated to do something for somebody else.
4. Get a pet
Taking care of a pet is very therapeutic. Mainly because they love you unconditionally and rarely ever ask anything of you aside from giving them lots of caresses and feeding them on time.
This makes them an ideal companion that actually is proven to lower stress in adults. In fact, a pet can even help lower your blood pressure. Many people end up using their pets as emotional support animals since they are able to help in so many ways.
Taking a dog for a walk also helps get you out of the house and active which is also a good way to decompress and slow down a bit.
